Cruel Intentions
by BrOkEnInSiDe
Summary: Hermione's aunt, uncle, and cousin Thalia come over from america to keep them safe during the trouble in the wizarding world. Will Thalia fall for Draco? Does he really like her? Or is he up to no good? rated r for adult content
1. Default Chapter

I just wanted to put this in before my story so you know a little about me. this is my first fanfic, though i've been writing short storys for years, i have a tendancy to spell peoples names wrong, so if i have in here, don't hold it agains me lol i hope you enjoy my story, please read and review. if you have questions about anything i'll be glad to answer them before chapters so feel free. please don't take my ideas i worked very hard on this. Enjoy 


	2. A New Year

Black Roses

It was the beginning of the sixth year at Hogwarts. Harry and Ron were waiting at platform nine and three quarters for Hermione to meet them. After his godfather had died, Harry wasn't in the mood to go back to the Dursley's house, so he had stayed with the Weazley's all summer.

"I wonder where she is, it's not like her to be late." Ron pondered aloud.

"I don't know, but I'm sure there's a good reason." Harry replied, trying to sound as if he wasn't worried. He had a tough enough time adjusting to Sirius's death, he didn't want one of his friends to die as well. Just then, they noticed a girl they had never seen before. She was tall, with long brown hair and she was beautiful. She strode towards them, her black knee high boots accentuating the long legs beneath the short red plaid skirt she was wearing.

"Hi, I'm Hermione's cousin Thalia Smith. My parent's are staying with Hermione's for a while so I'm going to be attending Hogwarts this year." She introduced herself.

Just then Hermione came up behind her, pulling their trunks on a cart.

"Thalia, I see you've found Harry and Ron." She panted from the effort. She glanced over at them and noticed both of them gaping at Thalia. "Hmph, it would do you both some good to put your eyes back in your heads and introduce yourself."

Ron and Harry turned red, and introduced themselves to Thalia. She explained to them how her parents were witch and wizard, and would be watching over Hermione's until the danger around the wizarding world had passed.

"That's nice of them to come all the way over from America." Harry said.

"Well, mother loves her sister so there wasn't really any question of whether to come or not. As soon as we heard about what happened last year..." she cut herself off after realizing were she was going.

"It's okay, I'm still trying to get over the death of my god father. But at least his name is clear now, and people know he didn't have anything to do with what happened to my parents." Harry replied.

"Yeah, he wasn't wizard enough to be in league with the Death Eaters." A voice drawled from behind him. Harry turned around to see Draco Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.

"Shut up Malfoy, you wouldn't know a good wizard if he hexed you." Ron snapped.

"Well, I know a beautiful woman when she's standing in front of me. Tell me, what is a person like you doing with losers like these?" he said, looking at Thalia.

"Hermione happens to be my cousin, and these are her friends. Were I you, I'd learn some manners." Thalia replied, she could tell that Draco wasn't someone she would normally associate with.

"Well, if I were you I'd find someone of better status to hang out with. I'm in Slytherin house, so if you ever want to hang out with a real wizard, you know where to find me." With that, he turned and headed towards the train.

"What's his malfunction?" Thalia asked, pointing at Draco over her shoulder.

"Oh just your average run of the mill my family is an old wizarding family so therefore I'm better than you attitude." Harry answered. "It would be best if you just ignored him."

"Well I have him know that my family was one of the first wizarding family's to move to America. My mother's sister may not have had magic in her veins, but that wasn't for lack of heritage." Thalia sniffed. "Why do you think Hermione's such a good witch?"  
"Yes, well we'd better go and see if Ginny's found you guys a car to sit in." Hermione brushed off what her cousin had said, and began to push her cart towards the train.

'I wonder why Hermione never told me her family had magical blood in them.' Harry wondered to himself as he followed Hermione to the train. 'Or, for that matter, that she had such an attractive cousin.'

They found Ginny a couple of minutes later, and began to put their trunks in the storage compartments.

"Well, Ron and I'd better be getting to the prefect car. I'm sure that they'll have instructions for us." Hermione said. She grabbed her robes and walked out of the car. Ron shrugged and followed her.

"I wonder what's wrong with Hermione?" Ginny asked.

"Oh it's probably because I slipped and said our family comes from a long line of wizards and witches. Her mother has always been embarrassed to be the only one without magical powers and she never told Hermione about us until a year or so ago. Hermione just gets a little mad because she thought she came by her powers on her own. Funny, you would've thought she'd like knowing she wasn't the only one." Thalia mused.

They were beginning to chat and get to know each other better when the door to their car opened. Malfoy walked in.

"So, here you are." He drawled, addressing Thalia. "I was wondering if you would like to come to my car so we could get to know each other. I'm sure you're going to want someone to show you around. Maybe escort you to Hogsmeade for the first trip?"  
"No, I'm sure that I'll do just fine on my own. I'd prefer not to have to deal with the arrogant company of one such as yourself." Thalia replied coldly. "I have better things to do than that."

Malfoy, not used to being turned down, merely smirked.

"As you wish, but I'd think about whose side I was on if I were you. I'd hate to wind up the loser." With that he turned and strode out of the car.

"Just who does that guy think he is?" Ginny yelled. "I'm sorry he seems to like you Thal."

"That's okay, I'm sure I've dealt with worse than him." She laughed it off.

"I don't know. His father is pretty high up on Voldemort's chain." Harry replied, looking concerned. Ginny gasped.

"Harry, you really shouldn't say his name. Especially now."

"But if you don't say the name of something that you fear, it just holds that much more power over you." Thalia reasoned. "I'm sure saying Voldemort's name isn't going to hurt anyone."  
"I don't know, I think I'd prefer to stick with he who must not be named." Ginny stated, reluctant to let go of the habit. "It's just the safest way to deal with it."

"Well, whatever floats your boat." Thalia shrugged. "I'm just glad that you guys are so nice, I don't know what I'd do if I had to sit around and be bored all the time. Hermione's always studying, so I know she wouldn't be much fun."

"Well, it can be a great help sometimes." Harry replied. "She's always a big help with problems."

They chatted about Hermione for a little while then got on the subject of Hogsmeade. They were having such a good time that they didn't notice until the last minute that they were almost at Hogwarts and had to rush to put on their robes.

"My parent's arranged it with Dumbledore so that I can be in Gryffindor with you guys. It's kind of like my house at home, so it should be easy to adjust." Thalia said, helping to get her trunk down from the compartment.

"That's cool. I could introduce you to some of my friends." Ginny replied.

"I would like that."

They found an empty coach and piled their things into it. It wasn't long before Ron and Hermione caught up to them.

"Thanks for saving us a spot guys, they were giving us a lecture on how important it is that prefects learn to set a good example." Ron puffed as he hefted his trunk into the carriage with the others.

"Well I think it was a good lesson. It is our job to make sure that everyone behaves." Hermione replied. "After all, if we ran about acting like fools, what would that make the others think?"  
"Halo Harry, who's yer new friend?" a big voice came from behind them.

"Oh, hello Hagrid. This is Hermione's cousin Thalia." Harry replied to the Hogwarts gamekeeper. Hagrid was a good friend to them.

"Well thas nice. I dinna know you had a cousin Hermione."

"Well, she doesn't come over much. We should be getting in the carriage Hagrid. Shouldn't you be taking the first years to the castle?" Hermione replied, quickly picking up her trunk and following it into the carriage.

"Well I guess she's right then, I ought ter be goin." With that, Hagrid turned and started to head towards the lake.

"See you later Hagrid, it was nice to meet you!" Thalia called after him.

Thalia climbed up into the carriage after Hermione, followed by Harry, Ron and Ginny.

"This is exciting, I've never really been to very many places. I hadn't even been to England before last year." Thalia exclaimed. "I bet the castle's pretty."  
"Oh honestly, you're acting as though you've never seen it before. I showed you the picture in Hogwarts A History." Hermione complained.

"Yes, but a picture isn't anything like actually seeing something." Thalia remarked, sticking her tongue out at her cousin. When she did, you could see that it'd been pierced.

"Did that hurt?" Ginny asked, pointing at it.

"Nah, not really. The worst part was learning how to eat again." Thalia laughed. "I got tattoos too, wanna see?

Thalia showed them her tattoos (she had a dragon across her lower back, and a half sleeve with a unicorn and butterflys on her left arm). Harry couldn't help but think of how different she was from her cousin. Hermione was a bookworm, and Thalia seemed so outgoing. Before long, they were at the castle.

"Oh my gosh, it's huge!" Thalia exclaimed.

"Yeah, just wait until you have to remember how to get around in it." Muttered Ron. "Stupid stairways changing place and all."

"But that's okay, we'll help you around." Ginny replied.

"Yeah, since you're going to be in Gryffindor you'll have all your classes with Hermione, Ron and I." Harry replied. "So you probably wont get lost unless you go around by yourself."

"Which I wouldn't recommend doing right now." Hermione cut in. "Hogwarts may be protected, but I don't trust those Slytherins. Most of their families are in the Death Eaters. Maybe you should just stick with us."  
"Hm, I'm sure I'll be fine. But, I would prefer to walk with you guys anyway. I'm afraid of becoming lost."

By this time, they were making their way into the castle. In the entrance, torches were lit and it was warm and cozy. Thalia followed her new friends into the Great Hall and over to Gryffindor table.

"So, how do you guys do your sorting?" Ginny asked, curious about how the Americans did it.

"We have to stand in front of a mirror. It tells us what house we're in." Thalia replied.

At this point, professor Macgonagal was bringing out the stool and the sorting hat.

"Well you're in for a treat then, because our hat sings." Ginny said.

The sorting hat sung it's song, and began to sort the first years into their houses. When it was through, there were three new Gryffindors and Thalia was jealous.

"That is a lot more entertaining than my school, maybe I'll stay here for my last year." She said.

They ate from the platters that had just filled with food, there were even some hamburgers and different American foods on the Gryffindor table.

"It seems Dumbledore wanted to make you comfortable." Hermione said.

"Yes, he does seem to be a nice man." Thalia observed, looking at the headmaster who was drinking from his goblet and laughing at something professor Mcgonagal just said.

"He is, and as long as he's here he who must not be named can never come here." Ron replied.

"Yeah, because he's scared of Dumbledore." Ginny added.

They finished their dinner, and the prefects began to lead the full and sleepy houses to their rooms. They followed Ron and Hermione to the portrait of the fat lady and Hermione told it the password (toads breath). Thalia plopped herself down on one of the chairs by the fire.

"Man am I ever tired." She yawned.

"Well you better get to bed then, we have breakfast early here." Hermione told her.

"Yeah, and then we have potions with Slytherin." Ron groaned.

"Ew, not the house that boy is in." Thalia sighed. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to be bothered by him for a while."

"Well, get used to it. Malfoy's used to getting what he wants, so I'm sure he won't be giving up that easy. He's also Snape's favorite student." Harry replied.

"Snape?"

"Don't you ever pay attention?" Hermione asked. "He's Slytherin's house master, and the potions teacher."

"Oh I see." Thalia replied. "Well, I think I'm going to go to bed after all. Do you mind showing me where my room is Hermione?"

Hermione and Thalia walked off up the stairs and left Ron and Harry sitting in the lounge.

"Well she seems nice." Said Ron.

"Yeah she does." Harry replied.

With that, the boys decided that they were tired as well. As he lay in his bed, Harry couldn't help but think about his godfather. He couldn't believe that Sirius was gone. It wasn't fair, just when he had been thinking that everything was going to get better. Tonks and the order had threatened the Dursley's last year, but Harry didn't know what was worse the way they treated him before or the way that they had walked on eggshells around him before he decided to go to the Weasley's. He had felt more alien than he ever had. Sighing, he rolled over snuggling into his blankets. An hour later he finally managed to fall into a fitful sleep.


	3. Potions Class

Chapter 2

The next morning, they all met for breakfast in the great hall. Thalia could feel the other student studying her with curiosity. It was weird being the new kid, but at least she had new friends.

"So, potions with Slytherin eh?" she asked, helping herself to some eggs and bacon.

"Yeah, starts right after breakfast too." groaned Ron.

"Well, I was horrible at potions at home. So i guess it's not going to be a picnic for me either."

"I could help you out if you like, it's just a matter of remembering what ingrediants to use." Hermione said. She had awoken in a much better mood.

"Sure, that would be nice." Thalia replied, smiling. It was nice to know her cousin wasn't mad at her anymore.

Harry walked in at that moment and sat beside Thalia. He was looking a little rough around the edges.

"Harry, did you sleep at all last night?" Ginny asked, looking slightly worried.

"Yeah, i'm fine Ginny. I just had trouble getting to sleep, must be coming back to school I guess." He replied, rubbing his eyes. "Do you mind passing the pancakes?"

Ginny passed them, and they all finished eating. Thalia was a little shocked when a large owl plopped down on the table in front of her and deposited a letter onto her now empty plate. She patted him on the head, and he flew away again.

"Now what on earth could mom be writing about already?" she wondered aloud, opening the letter. "Just wanted to see how you liked your new school. Things are going fine here, your father and i hope that you're getting along with Hermione's friends. Owl us back when you have a free minute, love mom and dad." she read aloud.

"You're parents seem nice checking to make sure that you're doing okay." Ron said.

"Yeah, but it can get embarrassing sometimes. They're a little overprotective."

"Well... at least you have parents that care about you." Harry said, looking off into space.

"I'm sorry Harry... " Thalia trailed off. "I didn't mean to offend."

"No Thal, it's okay. I just miss Sirius is all, it would've been nice to go live with him and have a family. But i don't want to bring everyone down, why don't we head to class?"

They picked up their books and bags and headed towards the dungeons. By the time they got there, the Slytherins were already lined up and waiting outside the classroom. Malfoy was talking to Crabbe and Goyle, but when he saw Thalia he walked over to them.

"So Potter, must feel good to have a beautiful woman walking around with you. I mean, you couldn't even keep Cho Chang interested. I guess being famous doesn't help with everything." he smirked.

"Stuff it Malfoy" Harry shot back.

"Honestly Malfoy, you're a prefect. Don't you have anything better to do than cause trouble." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Someone who thinks he's as great as you do must surely have a hobby. Being a jackass must surely be yours." Thalia looked at him coldly.

Draco's eyes flashed with barely perceptible anger, then cleared. He looked about to say something, but Professor Snape came down the hallway just then.

"All right, everybody into my classroom before i have to take points for being late..." He noticed Thalia. "You must be the exchange student from America. I expect you to be with the rest of us. I know the potions teacher at your school and she's quite capable."

"Yes sir. I'll try my best." Thalia replied, slightly caught off gaurd.

"We'll see." Snape said, opening the door to his classroom and walking to his desk.

'Well this aught to be fun.' Thalia thought to herself. 'My first day of class and one teacher already hates me.'

"Don't bother with him, he's that way with everybody." Harry whispered to her as they walked to a cauldron together.

Thalia smiled and thanked him. They listened to Snape's lecture, then set about cutting the roots and measuring the ingredients for the sleeping draught he had written on the board. They worked on their potion and chatted quietly. Snape was walking up and down the rows, complementing Slytherins and cutting down Gryffindors. Eventually, he came to Harry and Thalia's cauldron.

"I see that you haven't been paying attention to Professor Mystica in America Thalia. Those roots are cut wrong." he sneered at her. "And Potter, you're supposed to boil the newts eyes before you add the scarab wings. Maybe if you wouldn't have been talking to your new friend during the lecture, you'd know what you were doing."

Harry's face turned red and it was all he could do to keep from saying something smart. He knew what Snape ws doing for the order was stressful, but since he was on the same side he could at least be a little less horrible.

"Sir, Professor Mystica told us that it was less wasteful to cut the roots diagonally." Thalia replied.

'Uh-Oh' Harry thought.

"Miss. Smith, you will be staying after class and ten points will be taken from Gryffindor for getting smart with me. I don't know what they accept from their students in America, but I certainly will not be expected to put up with attitude from my students." Snape sneered before walking off to critisize Neville.

Thalia looked at Harry in shock. She couldn't believe that she had just managed to get into trouble on the first day, she was only trying to be helpful. Harry shook his head at her, trying to make sure that she didn't say anything and get herself into more trouble.

'I'll come get you after detention.' he mouthed to her, knowing she'd never find Professor Sprout's class without him. She nodded, and they went back to repairing their potion. From across the room they heard a crash and they turned to see what had caused it. Malfoy was standing over his tipped cauldron with a look of shock on his face that didn't seem quite genuine. Crabbe, who had been his partner, more confused than usual look on his face.

"Malfoy, I can't believe that you would be so careles." Snape was yelling. "You are to stay after and clean up this mess."

Thalia rolled her eyes. 'This is just great.' she thought, 'Not only do I have to stay after, but I have to stay after with him."

When class ended, she watched her friends file out the door. Harry sat the vial with their potion in it on Snape's desk, and winked at her as he left.

"Miss Smith, you are to scrub the cauldrons out the muggle way. Draco, clean up your mess. I'll expect no funny buisness, I would stay to watch you but i'm afraid that i have some buisness to attend to." Snape ordered. He handed Thalia a rag and some cleaner before he turned and walked out of the room.

Thalia busied herself with the first cauldron she came to, trying to ignore Draco as she worked. She worked for a couple minutes, and when she straightened up to spray more cleaner on her rag she noticed that he was leaning against the table and watching her.

"Well, aren't you going to clean up your mess? I suppose a man of your upbringing is too good to clean his own messes?" she snapped at him.

"I'm quite able to clean up after myself." he said, pulling out his wand and pointing it at the large puddle on the floor. The liquid began to evaporate and dissapear. "Would you like some help with that?"

"I can manage quite fine on my own." She replied curtly.

"You know, I'm not quite as bad as you think. I'm sure you could even like me if you got to know me." He was leaning against the table again, with a self assured glint in his eye.

"I'm sure." Thalia finished the cauldron she was on and moved to the next one.

"There's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up in a few weeks. Would you care to give me the honor of you company? I assure you it would be worth your while."

Thalia straightened up again, looking at him. He was quite handsome, he had beautiful eyes and the cool confidence that radiated off him was kind of attractive. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, she could always leave him and find her friends. What was she thinking? Of course she couldn't go anywhere with him, he was repulsive.

"I'd rather not." She answered, turning her back on him to go on to the next cauldron. She didn't realize he had walked up behind her until she felt his breath on her neck.

"Just one day, if you still don't like me you don't have to talk to me again." he whispered.

His breath was warm on her ear and she felt herself blush. Her new friends hated Malfoy, and she didn't think she liked him. He had said that she wouldn't have to talk to him again though, and it was just Hogsmeade. What could it hurt?

"Fine, if it'll make you back off I'll go. But just the once, and after that i want you to stop bugging me." She said.

"It's a date then. I'll meet you at the bottom of the main stairs on Saturday morning." Draco grabbed his wand and books off the table and walked out.

Thalia sighed and returned to her cauldrons, only a few more to go and the work wasn't too bad. She didn't know what she was going to tell Hermione, she was obviously going to be pissed. Maybe if she told her that she was only doing it to get rid of him? Thalia shook her head with confusion. She was just bending over to get the bottom of the last cauldron when she heard someone walk into the room.

"Honestly, I told you I'd go with you what more do you want from me?" she snapped.

"Take it easy Thal, i just wanted to make sure you were getting done here. It's almost time for our next class."

Thalia pulled her head out of the cauldron and noticed Harry standing in the doorway looking confused. She tossed the rag and cleaner onto Snape's desk as she walked to the front of the room.

"I'm sorry Harry, yes I'm done. Let's go to class." She replied.

"Go where with who?" He asked. "Malfoy didn't talk you into going to Hogsmeade with him did he?"

"It's just to get rid of him i assure you. He said if i don't like him I don't have to speak to him again and trust me, I don't like him."

"Thal, he's bad news. I really don't think you should..."

"I've made up my mind and i only want to get rid of him. I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself." she replied, hugging him. "But thank you for the concern Harry."

Harry turned pink and shrugged his shoulders

"I just don't want you to wind up with the wrong people. You don't know anyone here." He said, by this time they had made it to the bottom of the main stairway where Ron and Hermione were waiting for them.

"I'm sorry about that Thal, I really should've warned you more about him. I didn't think that he'd have it in for you as bad since you're from a diffrent place. I guess I should've known better." Hermione said apologetically.

"Yeah, you should've." Ron said, poking Hermione in the ribs. Hermione blushed, and pushed his hand away.

"So what did he make you do?" she asked, composing herself. Ron normally didn't touch her, not that she minded.

"Just clean some cauldrons. I have to tell you something."

Thalia told Ron and Hermione what Harry already knew. She had expected her cousin to be mad, and Hermione didn't dissapoint.

"Your first day here and already you're mingling with the wrong kind of people. Don't you remember what happened last year? That wizard you thought for sure was "the one" and turned out to be exactly what your mother told you he was, a dark wizard with nothing but the worst on his mind. Malfoy's worse Thal i promise you." She yelled.

"I don't see why it's neccessary to bring Nikolas into this, and i'm not starting a relationship. I told you I'm just doing it to get rid of him. I'm not like that anymore Hermione, and you know it. I told you I didn't want my past to be brought up here."

"Hey now, what you don't want us to know don't tell us. Hermione didn't tell us anything. I don't know who Nikolas is or what you two are talking about." Ron said, getting in between them.

"Ron's right Thal we don't care about any of that. Why don't you two calm down?" Harry put his arm around Thalia, and tried to calm her down.

"I'm going to trust you on this one Thal, but don't get yourself in another mess." Hermione snapped.

"Whatever. It's just a day." Thalia shook her head. "Besides, if I get tired of him I can always punch him like you did last year.

This got them all laughing and the moment of tension passed. Harry couldn't help but think about what Hermione had said though, what had happened to Thalia last year? He assumed that Nikolas was an ex who had hurt her, but how? He decided to let it go, it was obvious that Thalia didn't want to talk about it and he wasn't about to push her. He hoped she knew what she was getting into with Draco though, they had all warned her. Malfoy was devious, and with a father like Lucious he had to know how to convince people. Harry just hoped that he wouldn't try to hurt Thalia, and that she was smart enough to see through the Slytherin.


	4. Hogsmeade

Chapter 3

After their Magical Herbs and Fungi class with Hufflepuff was over, Neville having managed to knock over a whole shelf of magical carrots that they had to chase around the room, they went to lunch. Once again there were American foods mixed in with the traditional ones and Thalia helped herself to a cheese steak sub.

"How could you eat that thing?" Ginny asked, looking with disgust at the grease dripping from one end.

"Don't knock it till you try it." Thalia replied, holding it out to Ginny.

"No thanks, I'll pass." Ginny said, pushing the sub away.

"Suit yourself."

They had a free afternoon ahead of them so they decided to check in on Hagrid. They walked across the grass to his house, excited to let Hagrid meet Thalia. They hadn't spoken since they were introduced on the first day.

"Allo guys it's good ter see yah." Hagrid greeted them at the door.

"Hello Hagrid." Harry said. "You remember Thalia."

"Oh 'course I do. Hermione's cousin eh? Well come in and we'll see about gettin yer some food." Hagrid said, stepping aside so they could come in.

Hagrid's house was every bit as warm and cozy as usual, with Fang lying on the rug in front of the fire. They sat around the table and waited while Hagrid got them some tea and biscuits. They each took one, and pretended to nibble at it. This was a little difficult considering that they were hard as rocks, as usual. Hagrid asked Thalia some questions about America, and she was happy to tell him about it. They sat in his house and talked for a few hours then decided to go hang out in the Gryffindor common room and play wizard chess for a while before dinner.

"I never understood chess." Thalia sighed as Ron's knight grabbed one of her pawns and drug it off the board.

"Ah, you just have to pay more attention, it's pretty simple once you learn to pay attention." he shrugged.

A few minutes later Ron's queen drug Thalia's king off the board.

"Bah, I'll never get the hang of it." she laughed as her king looked at her like she was a moron.

"You have to get your pieces to trust you. They know that you aren't into the game, so they don't help you out." Harry said, walking over to them. "Hey Ron, can you let me show her some things?"

"Yeah go for it, I have to get to work on my potions homework anyway." Ron got up and walked over to where Hermione was sitting at the table. He pulled out his papers, and she moved hers so they'd have enough room on the table for both their stuff.

"I think Hermione likes him." Thalia told Harry, motioning over her shoulder.

"Yeah, I think Ron likes her too. One of these day's they'll notice it, but I think they're in denial." He laughed. "Now about your chess pieces..."

Before long, Harry managed to get Thalia's chess pieces to at least give her a shot. They still didn't trust her, but at least they were listening. They played until dinner, then went down to the great hall to eat.

The next couple of weeks flew by in a flurry of classes and homework. Thalia was doing well in astronomy and charms, however was doing horrible in potions and transmogrification. Hermione was spending time tutoring her. It was Friday evening and Thalia was making her third attempt to turn the chair in the Gryffindor common room into a newt (it now looked like a large cushion with a newt head and tail) when Ron came in with a piece of paper.

"The trip to Hogsmeade is this weekend." He announced. "Better prepare yourself for a day with Malfoy"

"Ugh, I was hoping it would never come, and it's only a day away." Thalia groaned.

"Well, you could always just stand him up and come hang out with us." Harry replied from the chair by the fireplace. He had been studying for the next days Care of Magical Creatures class with Hagrid. They had been working with a new animal, the pincer grabbon. It was like a large crab with huge pinchers.

"No, thank you Harry. I think it would be best to go with him and hope he keeps up to his promise of leaving me alone." Thalia replied. "But what am i going to do with my hair?"

"I don't see why it should matter. You're not trying to impress him are you?" Hermione huffed. "I'd just leave it as it is."

"Easy for you to say. Your's is getting much better."

Hermione passed a hand over her no longer unruly curly brown hair. It was looking a lot better now, if only she could get Ron to notice. She didn't want to tell him she liked him, but she supposed one day she'd have to. If she left it to him, they'd probably never get together. 'not today.' she thought to herself.

"Why don't you straighten it like you did the other day? That looked really cute." Ginny piped up.

"Yes, and it's fairly easy to do." Thalia replied. "I just have to put a charm on it."

"I have an idea, why don't we go with you?"

"But Ginny, I think Malfoy wanted it to be a date."

"Well, if i go with Harry and Hermione goes with Ron wouldn't it be a date?" Ginny asked.

"Sorry Ginny, but spending my day with Malfoy isn't exactly what i had in mind for my day at Hogsmeade. I'm sure that Thalia can take care of herself. Besides, it's not like he can hurt her there, everybody would know."

"I don't think it's hurting me he has in mind." Thalia winked.

"Ew, I don't even want to think about what he might have in mind." Hermione said, repulsed. "I just hope you have sense enough to be careful around him."

Thalia's newt cushion had managed to make it's way across the room and bump into Ron.

"Gross, Thal can you do something with this poor thing?" Ron said as he watched the creature try to back up to avoid bumping into him again.

"Oh, oops i forgot about him."

She waved her wand, and miraculously the animal actually turned into a newt.

"Hm, maybe we were just working to hard." Thalia said, picking up the newt and putting it into the cage that had been waiting on the table.

"Nonsense, you just weren't trying hard enough." Hermione replied. "Let's go outside and get him some crickets to eat."

After they went cricket hunting, they decided to go to bed. Thalia lay awake thinking about the next day. Malfoy hadn't said a word to her since he asked her to go. Would he still even be there? Against her better judgement, she found herself anticipating the next day. She began with planning what to wear, and then what she would say. She caught herself. She wasn't going to like this boy, she knew he was no good. The last time she had fallen for a dark wizard, her sister had paid the price. Nikolas had seemed a good man, just a little misunderstood. Her sister had tried to get between them, knowing he had been hitting Thalia, and she had wound up in the hospital. She didn't even know her own name, Hope. It had been sad leaving her behind, but the doctors said she probably wouldn't even realize they were gone. Thalia wasn't sure of the hex Nikolas hit her with, she had been on the ground at the time holding her broken nose. Nikolas had disappeared and so she wasn't sure she'd ever find out.

With a sigh, Thalia rolled over and tried to forget what had happened. Her sister was never going to be the same again and she sure wasn't going to fall for another dark wizard. Especially one as self absorbed as Draco Malfoy. Whatever he said to her tomorrow, she was going to have to not let it get to her.

The next day dawned clear and sunny. Thalia drug herself out of bed and began to dress, deciding on a pair of tight jeans and a nice sweater to wear under her robes. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and put on her makeup with a spell her mom had taught her. She straightened her long hair and made it shiny with a charm. She looked in the mirror and decided it was good enough. Down in the common room, she found Hermione Harry Ginny and Ron waiting for her.

"Wow, Thal you look very pretty today." Harry said.

"Thanks Harry, I just hope not too pretty. The plan is to get him to leave me alone, not make him come back." Thalia laughed.

They walked down the stairs, and sure enough Malfoy was there waiting for her. For once he was all alone.

"You look incredible, as usual, today Thalia. Thank you for coming to meet me." He greeted her.

Ron looked over at Harry and put his finger in his mouth, pretending to gag. It was all Harry could do to keep from laughing.

"Well, lets go then." Thalia replied, walking with Draco out the door.

"Can you believe that he actually didn't say anything at all to us?" Hermione said as she watched them leave.

"I guess he was too busy attempting to sweep Thal off her feet." Harry replied.

"Oh I know, Hermione you look incredible today. Shall I take you into Hogsmeade?" Ron laughed, bowing low.

"Honestly Ron, are you ever serious." Hermoine said, trying to hide her embarrassment. Even though he was joking, he had said she looked incredible.

They followed Thalia and Draco out the door and into Hogsmeade.

"So, where would you like to go?" Draco asked her when they had entered Hogsmeade.

Thalia couldn't help but be impressed, they didn't have very many wizarding towns in America and she hadn't ever been to one. She let him lead her around and show her the best stores. Everywhere they went, people were looking at them. Apparently a couple of weeks before school started Pansy and Draco had broken up badly, so everyone wanted to see who he was replacing her with. Eventually they got chilly and headed into the Three Broomsticks for a couple of butterbeers. Thalia sat at a table while Draco went to the bar and got them.

"So, you're the one who's seeing Draco now." came a voice from behind her. Thalia turned her head to see Pansy standing right behind her.

"No, I'm just walking around with him." Thalia replied.

"He doesn't really like you. He's just using you." Pansy sneered.

"What on earth are you talking about Pansy? Get the hell out of here." Draco yelled at her. He had just gotten back from getting the butter beers.

"Fine, if you want to spend your time with this ugly thing go right ahead. I can't stop you." She turned and ran, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Bitch is bloody bonkers, she's the one who cheated on me." Draco huffed. "I'm sorry Thalia, I didn't mean for that to happen."

"It's okay, it wasn't your fault." Thalia replied, picking up her butterbeer and taking a sip.

"So, are you having a good time? I mean with out the episode that just occurred?"

"The town is nice."

"But not the company?"

Thalia thought, the whole day he had been perfectly courteous. He had opened doors for her, bought her chocolate frogs from Honeydukes, and showed her the best places. He was also handsome, and at times had even been funny. She just couldn't bring herself to trust him yet.

"I've had a good time."

"Okay, I guess I'll accept that for now." Draco said, full of smooth confidence.

"It's just that I don't trust easily, and one day isn't going to bring that. My friends don't like you either."

"It's not my fault you hang out with the wrong sort of people." he grinned.

"They're nice people."

"Not my people."

"Right, well, that's not how i meant it... "

"No that's quite alright, you can think what you want. My family has been full of dark wizards for generations, and probably will be for generations more. However, not all of us are quite so bad you know."

"Well, we'll just see about that." Thalia said, drinking the last of her butterbeer. "But it's getting late, what's say we call it a night before we miss curfew?"

"If you want."

Draco walked her back to Hogwarts, they talked the whole way. Thalia tried to keep the conversation light, he was growing on her and she was trying to keep the dark wizard stuff out of it. At the main stairway they stopped.

"I've had a wonderful day, thank you Draco." She said, turning to say goodbye.

"Will there be more? Or are you going to force me to not talk to you again?"

"We'll see." She replied, beginning to turn to walk away.

Before she knew what was happening, Draco put a hand around her wrist and pulled her back.

"What..." she began, but he cut her off with a kiss. Thalia found herself momentarily lost, it was quick but sweet.

"Just in case." he replied, and turned away.

She watched him walk away, with a hand to her mouth. She was at a loss for words. Thalia turned to walk up the stairs and found Hermione there.

"What are you doing?" she hissed.

"Hermione I'm sorry. But really, I had a good time today."

"Are you telling me you're actually considering seeing him again?"

"Maybe, I don't know. I mean, if I don't give him a chance I'll never know right?"

"Honestly Thal, I don't know what to do with you sometimes." Hermione sighed. "Let's go upstairs."

When they got there, Thalia filled Harry and Ron in on what had happened through the day.

"Malfoy, being nice? There must be something going on." Ron replied, not believing Draco could be capable of being a decent person.

"I know, Thalia you should be careful around him." Harry agreed.

"Come on guys, you never know. He could actually be a nice guy. Besides, I don't even know if I'll date him again."

"Can you believe Pansy going wacko on you at the Three Broomsticks? Honestly, if she wouldn't have slept with that guy from Russia they'd still be together." Ginny said. "It's not you're fault she did something stupid."

"Well if you ask me, Thalia's doing something stupid already. I just hope it doesn't turn out the way I'm afraid of." Hermione said, she was still a little mad at her cousin, but she couldn't quite tell her what to do. She'd just have to hope for the best.

"I don't know guys, but I'm tired and I'm going to go to bed." Thalia said, yawning and getting up from her chair.

"Goodnight Thal." Harry said.

"Goodnight."

The next day they were all eating breakfast when a sleek owl fluttered down on the table in front of Thalia. She took the letter off it's foot and opened it.

It read:

Thalia,

I know that you never answered me about wether you'd see me again, but I want to see you tonight. Meet me on the quidditch field at 9:00 if you want to. I'll wait until 9:30 and if you aren't there I'll assume you don't want to see me and I'll stick to my promise of not bothering you anymore.

Hope to see you later,

Draco.

Thalia blushed, he wanted to see her again.

"You're not going are you? That's after curfew." Hermione said.

"Who said you could read over my shoulder anyway?" Thalia replied, sticking her tongue out. "I don't know, I might. I can make myself dim if I want, so I shouldn't be caught."

"I don't know, if you're caught you'd loose us points." Ron said. "And we are prefects, we're supposed to report if we know someone's going to sneak out."

"But you wouldn't want us to loose points would you? Especially since we haven't gotten any yet, quidditch hasn't started. Please, for me?"

"Alright fine, but you tell him that from now on if he wants to meet you he's got to do it during the day. It's bad enough you like him, he doesn't have to get you into trouble as well."

"Thank you guys." Thalia said, excited about seeing Draco again. She had known he was growing on her, but that kiss. She wanted to give him a chance.

Harry sat quietly listening to all of this, he had been hoping Thalia wouldn't like Draco. She was so nice, and pretty. He never would've gotten the nerve to ask her out though, just as long as Draco didn't hurt her. Harry knew he probably would, and when he did Harry knew he'd make him sorry.


	5. Late Night Meeting

Black Roses 4

That night, Thalia made herself dim with a charm and snuck out of the common room. She made her way slowly through the castle, being careful to stay in shadows. She needed the shadows to help her further blend into the dark. Once she left the castle the going was a little easier, in the night she could hardly be seen. She walked out on the quidditch field, and found Draco sitting in the middle, polishing his broom.

"Thalia, I knew you'd come." he said, looking over his shoulder at her.

"I've decided to give you a chance. Don't make me regret it."

"Or you'll do what?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Let's just say you don't want to find out." Thalia replied. She had been training ever since her sister was put in the hospital and knew a wide variety of fighting spells, on the off chance that she should ever see Nikolas again.

"I should like to think it won't come to that. Are you ready?"

"For what?"

"I assumed that, being from America, you probably haven't rode a broom before. I was going to take you for a ride."

"Oh, well okay then."

Draco got on his broom, then lifted Thalia up behind him.

"Hold on to me so you don't fall off." he said over his shoulder.

Thalia put her arms around his waist and he kicked off from the ground lightly. The next thing she knew they were soaring high above the ground. It was a chilly night, do Thalia pressed herself against Draco's back, trying to keep warm. On the ground below they could see the quidditch field and beyond that the light from the windows in the castle. He flew her around the school grounds, dipping low above the lake their feet almost skimming the water. Talking was impossible because the wind was going by so fast that they took her words away before they could reach him, so she held on and watched the scenery change. Soon he began to slow and she discovered a hole in the stand of trees they had been passing over. On the ground there was a blanket. He brought his broom down, and landed softly on the ground. Thalia scooted off the back and he stepped over the broom and leaned it against a tree.

"I came up here earlier and put the blanket here, it was hell trying to get away without someone noticing."

"Why didn't you just bring the blanket with you?" Thalia asked, sitting down.

"Because with you on the broom with me I wouldn't have had enough room to tie the blanket to it. Would you like some wine? I have a basket I put behind that tree."

"Sure."

Draco walked over to the tree and brought back a basket with a bottle of wine and some strawberrys in it. He set it in the middle of the blanket and pulled two glasses out.

"Where did you get this from?" Thalia asked as he poured.

"My father has ways of making sure I always have what I want." Draco said, smiling.

"Oh I see."

"Strawberry?" He picked the green top off of one and held it out to her.

She reached out to take the strawberry from but he brushed her hand aside and put the strawberry to her lips. She bit into the strawberry, it's taste sweet and ripe.

"You're lips looked beautiful wrapped around that strawberry." Draco observed, eating the rest of the strawberry. He was laying down, propped up on one elbow, looking at her intently. He sat up and moved closer to her. He sat down in front of her and pulled her into his lap. Thalia put her head on his shoulder, she had forgotten how much she missed being held. She kissed him, their tongues probing each others mouths, her hands roamed through his blonde hair. He lay her down on the blanket, and pulled her robe over her head. She sat up with him, kissing him and trying to find the bottom of his robes, she pulled them and his shirt over his head. Thalia was now sitting on top of him, moving slowly back and forth on his lap. Draco's face flushed and he bit his lip. Thalia slipped off his lap, unbuttoning his pants and pulling them off. Draco pushed her back down on the blanket, getting on top of her. He reached under her skirt and pushed her underwear to the side, not wanting to take the time to remove them. Thalia gasped out when he entered her, he was quite large.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking concerned.

"I'm fine, you're just a little big." She breathed, "Go slow."

Draco smiled, and began moving in and out in slow even strokes. As it began to get more comfortable for her, he moved faster. Thalia scratched at his back with her nails and moaned softly as an orgasm moved through her. Draco bit her neck and she felt him tense. He made a groaning sound in his throat before collapsing on top of her. He kissed her forehead then rolled over. Thalia rolled with him, and lay with her head on his chest. They lay like that for a few minutes, catching their breath and then Thalia sat up. She picked up her glass of wine and took a sip. Draco stood up, stretched and began putting his clothes on. When he was dressed, he sat beside her and put his arm over her shoulder.

"What time do you think it is?" Thalia asked.

"I don't know, maybe eleven."

"I have to get back soon. Hermione's going to let me in the gryffindor common room at twelve."

"How did you get out with no one noticing? It's easy for me since I'm a prefect, I just tell them I'm doing a hallway check."

"I can make myself dim."

"Takes a powerful witch to do that." Draco drawled, topping off their wine with the last from the bottle.

"I've been practicing, there's a lot of things I know that most witches my age don't."

"A powerful witch with a powerful wizard."

"Yes, but we're on different sides. I don't now how we could ever work this out......" Thalia trailed off.

"Don't worry about such things right now, maybe one of these days I'll finally talk you into coming over to my side."

"Don't even joke, I could never be a dark witch."

"I was kidding. Just because I don't like your cousin or your friends doesn't mean I don't appreciate your company, among other things." he said, trailing a finger down her inner thigh. "Let's not talk about this now."

"You're right, we should be getting back so I can meet Hermione in the hall."

"Why did you come tonight anyway?"

"You grew on me. I figured that you weren't as bad as everyone thought. I wanted to get to know you better."

Draco stood up, stretched and turned to face her. Thalia thought he looked like he was going to say something, but changed his mind. He reached down and grabbed her hands to pull her up.

"Can we see each other during the day from now on? I don't know how often I can manage to sneak out at night."

"If you prefer. I just thought the easiest way to keep Pansy from being a bitch was to meet you at night."

"Oh, her. It's no big deal, I can easily put up with a bitchy ex girlfriend. I've been through worse."

"Oh? Pansy has quite the attitude. If she bothers you, let me know."

"I can take care of myself." Thalia replied, putting her arms around his neck. "There's more to me than meets the eye."

He kissed her, then walked over to the tree his broom was leaning against. Thalia got on behind him and he flew them back to the castle. He landed easily on the quidditch field, and she walked with him to the building they kept the brooms in. Draco put his broom inside and locked the shed. Taking Thalia's hand, he walked her to the castle.

"Thank you for coming to see me tonight."

"I had a great time." Thalia flushed. She was thinking of him on top of her, his muscular arms around her. Draco noticed her blushing, and his cockey smile resurfaced. Thalia was standing with her back to the school, he pressed her against it and kissed her. She wrapped a long leg around him, pulling him closer. He smelled so good. He began to kiss her neck, but she pulled away.

"I have to be getting back, if I don't meet Hermione then she'll be mad." she breathed.

"Alright. Sleep well Thalia, I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast."

"Alright. Tomorrow then."

Thalia made herself dim, then stepped into the shadows. She waited until Draco opened the door for her, then slipped inside. At the bottom of the stairs they parted, him going to the dungeons and Slytherin house and her up the stairs to Gryffindor tower. She made it to the picture of the lady, who currently had on face cream and curlers, and didn't have to wait long before Hermione rounded the corner.

"Thal?" She whispered.

Thalia poked her in the back to let her know she was there. Hermione woke up the lady in the painting and told her the password. The lady yawned and the picture swung open. Thalia snuck in ahead of Hermione and when she got into the common room she made herself visible again.

"One of these days you're going to have to show me how to do that." Hermione huffed, not being used to someone doing something she couldn't.

"Maybe." Thalia said, sticking out her tongue at her cousin. "I kinda like knowing something you don't."

Ron and Harry were sitting in chairs in front of the fire doing star charts for astronomy class. They looked up when they heard the girls.

"So, how was your date with the pretty boy?" Ron asked.

"Come on Ron, he's not that bad." Thalia protested, as she and Hermione pulled two more chairs over to where the boys were sitting.

"I think he's repulsive." Hermione said. "I don't know what you see in him."

"He's gorgeous. And when you get to know him, he's really nice." Thalia smiled, thinking of how tender he had been.

"I don't see how you can 'get to know' someone in two dates Thal." Ron said. "We've known him for years and he's always been an ass."

"But really Thalia, how did it go?" Harry asked.

"It was very nice, he took me on a broom ride. He had a blanket spread out in this clearing and a basket with wine and strawberries. We had a really romantic evening." She sighed.

"You didn't sleep with him did you?" Hermione asked.

Thalia tried to hide a smile, but she could feel her cheeks turning red and knew she wasn't going to be able to hide it from her friends. Hermione's jaw dropped, she was speechless.

"Agh. Thal that's gross." Ron gagged.

"No, actually what's gross is the fact that I can't take a shower until tomorrow." Thal laughed.

"You need to be careful with him Thal, he's evil." Harry said.

"Good grief guys. I really like him, can't you be a little nicer?"

"Like he's ever nice to us. You've heard him." Hermione said, exasperated.

"I know... maybe now that we're together I can get him to take it easy." Thalia pondered.

"Hmph. Good luck." Ron sniggered.

"Whatever. I'm tired." Thalia said, yawning.

She left them sitting by the fire. They watched her go up the stairs that led to the girls rooms.

"I can't believe she slept with him." Harry said.

"I know. Seems like we're going to have to get used to it though." Hermione sighed. "I really don't know what to do with her. When her parents find out they're going to freak out. They know Lucious and what he really is."

"Good, maybe they can talk some sense into her." Ron yawned, stretching.

"No, I don't think so. They tried to tell her about Nikolas too."

"Who is that? You guys argued about him on the first day of school didn't you?" Harry asked.

"She made me promise not to tell anyone, she doesn't want questions asked. I guess if you promise not to mention it to her I can tell you."

Hermione filled them in on what Nikolas had been doing to Thalia, how her sister tried to help and paid the price, and how Thalia was still looking for him so she could set things right.

"That's why I worry about her. I love my cousin and she's a great girl, but she has a thing for dark wizards. I don't know what it is." Hermione shrugged her shoulders.

"So this git put a hex on her sister and then just dissapeared? She has no idea where to?"

"No, Nikolas had no family so she doesn't know where to begin looking. One day she'll have to find him though, the magical doctors can't find out what's wrong with Hope. Nikolas is the only one who knows."

That night, Harry lay in bed thinking about what he had learned about Thalia. How could she go and date another dark wizard? At least it had explained why she had gotten mad at Hermione before, she didn't want to be reminded about her sister at home. What would happen when she found Nikolas? Hermione said Thalia had been practicing different defenses and attacks, but would that be enough. Harry wondered where he had gotten to. Finally he decided to let it go. Thalia had her reasons for not telling them and it was not his problem to deal with. His problem was Voldemort, and luckily enough he didn't seem to be around right now. Harry's scar hadn't bothered him since school started. Harry didn't quite know what to think about this either. Harry finally fell asleep an hour later, wondering what Voldemort could be planning, and where he was.


End file.
